U2 Tour and El Salvador – “U2 Veni” Means a Private Gig!
February 17, 2009
Bono cast his shades off for the first time in forever at the 51st Grammy Awards in February 2009 and opened the huge event with a rousing version of “Get On Your Boots.” This was a fitting accompaniment to all the speculation over the announcement of the 2009-2010 U2 world tour, eagerly anticipated by U2 concert fans around the world. Every stadium and U2 Live tickets seller is on notice, waiting for the magic moment those U2 tickets are released and the show is on the road…
Bono appeared to be wearing some kind of black eye makeup to compensate for the loss of the famous shades, as he drove fans wild with his performance. The “No Line on the Horizon” album will be released on March 3, 2009 amid rumors over the impending tour.
One country not believed to be included in the U2 tour schedule is El Salvador. The entire nation has embarked on a “U2 Veni” or “U2, come here” campaign, in which a million signatures are sought to try to entice the Irish rockers to the South American country as part of their impending tour.
Most amazingly, three Central American U2 fans who delivered the then 60,000-name petition requesting the band play in El Salvador were given a private U2 concert in Dublin in February! U2 have long been a cherished band in the Central American nation and when the El Salvadorans delivered the petition it spoke loud and clear. U2 had dedicated the song “Bullet the Blue Sky” to the people of civil-war-torn El Salvador on their 1987 Joshua Tree album, considered by many (including me, as you know) to be U2 music at its finest. El Salvadoran DJ-exile Frankie Rivas was among the privileged trio, and he gives his story here:
“We were meeting on Thursday with U2’s publicist in Dublin, Lindsey Holmes, when she turned around and said, ‘Would you like to go and see the band’s studio?’ We didn’t think for one moment that we were actually going to meet the guys. When we got there Bono and the lads said hello and all of us were stunned. Then they played No Line on the Horizon and Breathe for us. I couldn’t believe it.” He said the band had refused to give an answer as to the possibility of playing El Salvador on the world tour but would think about it.Back home at present ‘U2 Veni’ is a national campaign. The slogan is all over billboards, taxis and newspapers. We are currently aiming to get one million online signatures to petition U2 to come over to El Salvador.”
This is just one more example of why U2 are the best loved band in the world. The Irish rockers just keep on giving, and when this 2009 U2 tour kicks off, it’s gonna be pure magic. Grab your U2 tour tickets as soon as they come off the presses, because these babies are gonna be dust in minutes!
Comments
Got something to say?
You must be logged in to post a comment.